Augusta vs. Preserve Gold: Which Gold IRA Company Is Better for You?
TL;DR: Preserve Gold is the newest company in this comparison series, founded in 2022, while Augusta Precious Metals has operated since 2012, a fourteen-year track record against a four-year one. Track record aside, Preserve reports a lower minimum near $10,000 against Augusta's $50,000, stocks all four IRA-eligible metals against Augusta's two, and publishes live pricing on its website where Augusta quotes only by phone. Augusta counters with a longer verified history, a fully published flat-fee schedule, and a required education session before you buy. If a longer track record matters more to you than a lower door, that alone may settle it.
If you're comparing Augusta Precious Metals and Preserve Gold, start with the fact that shapes everything else on this page, how long each company has actually been around. Augusta opened in 2012 and has built a fourteen-year public record. Preserve Gold launched in 2022, making it four years old and the newest company anywhere in this site's Augusta comparison series. That doesn't make Preserve the wrong choice, plenty of newer dealers run clean operations, but it does mean there's less history available to check before you commit a rollover. From there the two companies diverge for reasons that have nothing to do with age. It comes down to the minimum you need, the metals you can hold, and how openly each one shows you a price. This guide covers where they actually differ, so you can weigh a shorter track record against a lower entry point on your own terms.
Augusta vs. Preserve Gold at a Glance
A side-by-side table puts the gap in plain view. Start with the founded row, since the difference there sets up most of what follows, then check the minimum and metals rows, which carry more practical weight than the custodian-and-depository details most gold IRA comparisons spend too much time on.
| Feature | Augusta Precious Metals | Preserve Gold |
| Founded | 2012 | 2022 |
| IRA account minimum | $50,000 | Reportedly around $10,000, though one source cites $25,000 (confirm directly) |
| Setup and annual fees | $50 setup, $125 custodian, $100 storage ($225 a year after year one) | No house fee of its own. Fees run through the custodian and vary (roughly $50 to $200 setup, about $175 to $200 a year, often waived above $20,000) |
| Custodian | Equity Trust | Equity Trust, GoldStar, Horizon Trust, STRATA, or Preferred Trust |
| Depository | Delaware Depository | Delaware Depository or IDS |
| Metals offered | Gold and silver | Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium |
| Online pricing | Phone only | Live pricing published on its website |
| Buying process | Mandatory one-on-one education session | No mandatory session documented |
| Buyback | Dealer-set pricing, not guaranteed | No-fee buyback plus a price-match guarantee (the repurchase price itself is not guaranteed) |
| Notable legal record | None found in public records | None found in public records |
A Longer History Against a Lower Minimum
Augusta Precious Metals has operated since 2012, putting fourteen years of public track record behind it. Preserve Gold launched in 2022, four years old and by far the shortest history of any company compared against Augusta on this site. That gap doesn't automatically favor either side. A longer history means more time for a record to accumulate, good or bad, while a shorter one simply means less has happened yet. It does mean a saver researching Preserve has fewer years of reviews to draw on, so more of the legwork falls on you.
The minimum is where the two companies actually part ways on dollars. Augusta sets its floor at $50,000. Reports on Preserve's minimum aren't fully consistent. Most place it around $10,000, though one source cites $25,000, so treat any published figure as a starting point and confirm it directly before planning around it. Even at the higher figure, Preserve's door sits well below Augusta's.
That gap changes who each company can serve. A saver moving $15,000 has, at most reported figures, only one of these two open to them. A saver with $75,000 or more can choose either, and the minimum stops mattering. Fortune has flagged Augusta's $50,000 floor as the main trade-off against its hands-on approach, pairing that minimum with a dedicated agent and a required education session. Neither company publishes a formal waiver below its stated figure, so confirm the current number with each rather than assuming flexibility. We cover the reasoning behind Augusta's $50,000 minimum elsewhere on this site.
Fees: A Flat Schedule Against a Custodian-Set One
The fee structures work almost nothing alike. Augusta's charges are published to the dollar rather than estimated. Setup runs $50 as a one-time charge, the custodian bills $125 annually, and non-segregated storage costs $100 a year, for $275 total in the first year and $225 in every year after that. Augusta itemizes all of it on its own fee guide.
Preserve doesn't charge a house fee of its own. Its costs pass through whichever custodian you choose, and the number moves with that choice. One reported example runs about $50 to open and roughly $175 a year through a GoldStar account, while another runs closer to $200 to open and about $200 a year through Horizon Trust. Preserve's setup charge is also commonly waived on accounts of $20,000 or more. None of that is fixed the way Augusta's schedule is, so confirm the current terms for whichever custodian applies to you.
Which one costs less depends on your account size and custodian choice. A smaller Preserve account at a lower-fee custodian could undercut Augusta's flat $225 a year, while a larger one at a pricier custodian could land close to it or above it.
None of this touches the dealer spread, the markup between a coin or bar's wholesale price and what you actually pay. Neither company's flat fees capture that number, and it's where the bulk of your real cost sits on any sizable order. On a $50,000 purchase, a spread just a few points wide can outweigh years of either company's account fees combined, so treat the figures above, published or estimated, as the smaller piece of your total cost.
A Fee-Coverage Plan Against a Setup Waiver
Augusta's headline incentive comes as a promotion covering account fees for as long as ten years on qualifying balances, an offer large enough to zero out its usual $225 annual charge for someone rolling over a sufficiently large sum. Preserve counters with a different kind of break entirely. Instead of a multi-year fee holiday, it typically drops its setup charge for accounts of $20,000 and up, a perk that carries extra weight for Preserve specifically since its setup cost, unlike Augusta's fixed number, already shifts depending on which custodian ends up handling the account.
Treat either offer as a tiebreaker, not a reason to choose one company over the other. Terms, account-size thresholds, and timing windows change, and a promotion is only worth what it actually saves you against the fee schedule you'd pay without it. Ask each company to show that math in writing, comparing the promotional terms against the standard ones, before it factors into your decision at all.
The Buying Experience: Guided Education vs. Self-Directed Research
Education comes first at Augusta, structurally rather than as just a talking point. Before any account opens, every incoming customer has to sit through a required one-on-one web conference, and that session doesn't get handed to just any staffer. Devlyn Steele, the company's Director of Education and a member of Harvard Business School's business analytics program, runs it personally, walking each attendee through how a self-directed IRA is structured and where the real risks sit before anyone brings up a specific product to buy.
Preserve Gold's documented process doesn't describe an equivalent mandatory step. Its site leans on self-service resources, including published pricing, rather than gating account opening behind a required session. That suits a buyer who already understands the mechanics, and asks more of a first-timer who'd benefit from guidance first.
Does a required class sound like a safeguard to you, or a hurdle? That answer says more about fit than any rating here. A nervous first-timer often values Augusta's structure precisely because it isn't optional. A confident buyer, or one comfortable researching independently, may prefer Preserve's lighter touch.
On outside marketing, Augusta pairs its pitch with paid brand ambassador Joe Montana, disclosed here as a paid spokesperson rather than an independent endorser. Preserve's marketing leans more on its review-platform ratings than a celebrity partnership.
Opening an Account: Custodian Choice Comes First
Getting an account open follows the same basic path no matter which company you pick. A third-party custodian holds the metal and administers the account itself, not Augusta and not Preserve. You open a self-directed IRA through that custodian, fund it with a transfer or a rollover from wherever your retirement money currently sits, choose which metals to buy, and have them sent to a depository approved for IRA storage.
Where the two companies actually diverge is earlier in that sequence. Augusta puts its mandatory web conference ahead of any funding step, so education happens before money moves. Preserve, the newer of the two firms with a four-year record set against Augusta's fourteen, skips that required session and instead has you settle on a custodian right away, since it works with a roster of several rather than a single one, and that early choice shapes both the fee and the paperwork that follow.
Tax reporting works identically at both companies. Your custodian generates the forms and handles what the IRS requires, no matter which dealer sold you the metal. Timing runs on a similar clock too. A straightforward transfer tends to clear in a week or two either way, while a rollover out of a workplace plan usually takes longer. Get a current timeline estimate from whichever company you're considering, and if you're leaning toward Preserve, find out which of its five custodian options would actually manage your account, because that determines what you pay and how much paperwork you handle.
Four Metals, Two Depositories, and a Visible Price
Product selection is one of the clearest splits here. Augusta deals exclusively in IRA-eligible gold and silver. Preserve Gold adds platinum and palladium, covering all four IRA-eligible metals, which gives a buyer wanting exposure beyond the traditional two a reason to look at Preserve specifically.
Storage differs too, though less dramatically. Augusta ships metal to Delaware Depository under its standard non-segregated arrangement, with segregated storage available as a paid upgrade. Preserve works with either Delaware Depository or International Depository Services. Both satisfy IRS storage rules, so the choice comes down to preference rather than safety.
Pricing transparency is the other real gap. Augusta quotes pricing only over the phone, common across the industry but not helpful for comparison shopping before you call. Preserve publishes live pricing on its own website, letting a shopper see a number first. That's a genuine transparency advantage, though a published price is still worth checking against the metal's spot price, since that gap is the dealer's actual markup regardless of who shows a number first.
Ratings, Reviews, and a Shorter Public Record
Review scores land in similar territory for both companies, though the volume behind those scores tells a different story once you account for how long each has been collecting them. Augusta carries an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, a 4.8 score on Trustpilot, and another 4.8 on Consumer Affairs. Money currently ranks it Best for Educational Resources, the same publication that named Augusta Best Overall every year from 2022 through 2025 before that. Preserve Gold matches that A+ Better Business Bureau grade and edges slightly ahead on the raw numbers, close to 4.96 there, about 4.8 on Trustpilot, and near 5.0 on Consumer Affairs, though that tally rests on far fewer reviews than fourteen years in business has let Augusta accumulate.
Neither name turns up a confirmed lawsuit or enforcement action in the public records checked for this piece, and that holds true on both sides rather than as some manufactured wash. Context still matters, though. Augusta's clean sheet spans fourteen years of doing business, while Preserve's spans four, meaning Preserve has simply had far less time on the clock for any problem to surface, not proof that none could exist. That's the same track-record gap this comparison keeps circling back to, worth reading here as a timing limitation rather than a hidden red flag. Anyone who weighs legal history heavily should confirm it independently, through a state regulator or a legal database, rather than taking any single review site's word for it, this one included.
Which One Fits You?
The honest answer depends on what you're optimizing for. Augusta offers a longer, documented history and a fully published fee schedule, at a higher cost of entry and a slower process. Preserve offers a lower reported minimum, all four IRA-eligible metals, and pricing you can see before you call, backed by a much shorter track record. Neither is a step down from the other. The right pick matches your balance, your metal preferences, and how much history you want behind the company holding your rollover.
Choose Augusta Precious Metals if:
- You have $50,000 or more to roll over and clear the minimum comfortably.
- A longer, more thoroughly documented track record matters to you.
- You're satisfied with gold and silver and don't need platinum or palladium.
- A required education session before buying sounds like a safeguard, not friction.
Choose Preserve Gold if:
- Your available balance is closer to the reported $10,000 to $25,000 range, where Augusta isn't an option.
- You want platinum and palladium available alongside gold and silver.
- Seeing published pricing before you call matters more than a longer operating history.
- You're comfortable being an earlier customer of a newer company and doing more of your own homework on reputation.
Whichever way you lean, ask both companies three questions before funding anything. What does the full fee schedule look like for your account and custodian? What's the dealer spread on the coin or bar you're considering? And if history or legal record matters to you, what can each company show you directly rather than through a summary? For a broader look at Augusta against two other dealers at once, see our Augusta vs. Goldco vs. American Hartford Gold comparison, and read the full Augusta Precious Metals review for a closer look at how its process runs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Preserve Gold is the one you can likely use at $15,000, since most reports place its minimum around $10,000, well under that balance, though confirm the current figure directly since at least one source cites $25,000 instead. Augusta's $50,000 floor rules it out entirely at this level, so there's no real decision to make until your balance grows considerably. If you later combine accounts and clear $50,000, Augusta becomes worth a second look, but a $15,000 balance today points toward Preserve by default, pending confirmation.
Preserve Gold doesn't appear to publish one fixed minimum the way Augusta publishes its $50,000 figure, so third-party reports fill the gap and don't fully agree. Most place the number around $10,000, while at least one source cites $25,000, and the difference may come down to which account type a given source described. Ask Preserve directly for its current minimum for the account type you want before planning your rollover around a specific number.
Only at Augusta, based on available information. Augusta requires a mandatory one-on-one web conference before it will open an account, led by its Director of Education. Preserve Gold's documented process doesn't describe an equivalent required session, leaning instead on self-service resources like its published pricing. Neither approach is inherently better. A buyer wanting a guided walkthrough tends to prefer Augusta's structure, while a buyer comfortable researching independently may prefer Preserve's faster pace.
It depends entirely on what you want to hold. Augusta limits its offering to gold and silver, which covers what most first-time buyers ask for anyway. Preserve Gold adds platinum and palladium, giving buyers exposure across all four IRA-eligible metals rather than the traditional two. If your interest starts and ends with gold, the metals lineup alone won't separate these two companies for you.
Not automatically, but there's a real difference in how much history exists to check. Augusta has fourteen years of public operation behind it, while Preserve Gold has four, and neither shows a verified enforcement action or lawsuit in the public records reviewed for this comparison. A shorter track record isn't the same as a bad one. It just means less has happened yet, in either direction, so a saver considering Preserve should spend more time reading current reviews and confirming details directly rather than leaning on years of accumulated history the way an Augusta customer can.
Risk Warning: Precious metals carry investment risk, including potential loss of principal. Prices for gold and silver can move based on macroeconomic conditions, currency shifts, and market sentiment. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Treat a gold IRA as a long-term diversification tool, not a short-term trading vehicle. Before opening or funding a gold IRA with any company, always consult your own licensed legal, financial, and tax professionals.
About the Editorial Team
Augusta Precious Metals Reviews exists to cover one company, Augusta Precious Metals, in depth, publishing under the byline Augusta Precious Metals Reviews Editorial Team across pieces that look at its products, its leadership, what it charges, how customers experience its process, and the mechanics of opening a gold IRA through it. For this particular piece, Augusta authorized us to bring Preserve Gold into the comparison on the condition that the coverage stay neutral and factual, and we've held the result to that same independent bar, drawing on named outside sources such as the Better Business Bureau, Trustpilot, Consumer Affairs, Money, and Fortune, plus whatever each company publishes on its own, wherever that information was available. You won't find urgency tactics, scarcity countdowns, or high-pressure pitches anywhere in what we publish. Every educational piece we run closes the same way, with a gentle nudge to talk to your own legal, financial, and tax advisors before you invest.
Disclosure: This site has a partnership relationship with Augusta Precious Metals and may earn a commission from accounts opened through the contact methods on this site, in line with the Federal Trade Commission affiliate-disclosure rules under 16 CFR Part 255. This comparison was written to be neutral and independent. Augusta authorized this article to name Preserve Gold on factual, neutral terms only, and no sentence here was written to steer you toward Augusta over Preserve Gold.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional before making investment decisions.
